Make your Thanksgiving or Christmas be a celebration of compassion. Fabulous faux turkey dishes like Tofurky and Unturkey, as well as meatless gravy and stuffing, are easy to find in supermarkets and health food stores. For a home cooked vegan meal, try these mouth-watering recipes from Mercy For Animals that will tantalize the taste buds of even the most die-hard meat-eaters at the Thanksgiving table.

Thanksgiving / Christmas Loaf

Ingredients:

* 3 cups of cooked lentils

* 3 cups cooked millet

* 3 cups steamed brown rice

* 1 cup whole wheat bread, crumbled (3 slices)

* 1/2 cup dry oatmeal or cornmeal

* 1/2 cup almond or cashews, ground fine

* 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, ground fine (optional)

* approximately 3/4 cup of tomato juice

* 1 Tbs of oil

* 1 cup chopped onion

* 1 cup chopped celery

* 1 cup chopped tomato

* 1 heaping Tbs of sage

* 1/2 tsp celery seed, ground

* salt to taste, garlic power (optional)

Directions:

Lightly sauté onions in a mixture of water and oil.

Add celery and tomatoes. Sauté until slightly softened (the celery, if not over-cooked, gives a nice "crunch" to the loaf).

Combine all the ingredients and mix well, add bread crumbs and tomato juice to make stiff. Add water if the mixture seems too dry.

Place in lightly oiled loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

Serve with vegan gravy (optional).

Gravy

Ingredients:

* 8 Tbs vegetable oil

* 3 cloves garlic -- squashed and minced

* 2 slices yellow onion -- chopped

* 8 Tbs all-purpose white flour

* 4 tsp nutritional yeast

* 4 Tbs tamari (soy sauce)

* 2 cups water

* 1/2 tsp sage

* 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 5 white mushrooms -- sliced (optional)

* extra flour or cornstarch (optional)

Directions:

Pour vegetable oil into saucepan. Cook the garlic and onion in oil for about two minutes on medium or medium-low heat, until the onion is tender and translucent.

Add the flour, yeast, and tamari to make a paste.

Add the water gradually, stirring constantly.

Bring the gravy to a boil on medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly -- the gravy has to boil for it to thicken.

Add pepper. Stir in the sliced mushrooms, if desired. Add salt, if desired.

Cranberry Vinaigrette Salad

Serving Size: 10

Dressing Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup cranberry juice drink concentrate

* 1 Tbs white wine vinegar

* 2 tsp Dijon mustard

* 1/2 tsp dried thyme

* 1/4 cup olive oil

* 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

* 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Serve with fresh salad greens.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

* 6 pounds russet potatoes

* 2 heads garlic, tops trimmed off

* 1 stick margarine, room temperature

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 to 2 cups soymilk, warmed

* 2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped

* freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°.

Wrap garlic heads in tinfoil and cook in oven until cloves are soft and mushy, about 50 minutes.

While garlic is roasting, wash and peel potatoes.

Drop them into a pot of cold water (make sure the potatoes are completely immersed). Add salt and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender, then drain.

Sauté the vegetables in a small amount of water, vegetable broth, or olive oil until onion is clear and celery is tender.

Add seasoning and simmer a few more minutes.

Add bread and mix well.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

* 1 can French cut green beans

* 1 1/2 canisters vegan French fried onions

* 1 1/2 cups soymilk

* 1 cube veggie bouillon

* 2-3 Tbs corn starch mixed with 2-3 tablespoon cold water

* 1/2 medium onion, diced

* 1 carrot, diced

* 3/4 cup chopped mushrooms (button, crimini, or portabella)

* 1-2 Tbs vegetable oil

* 1/2 tsp each of garlic, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, sage, marjoram, thyme, and any other herbs to taste

Directions:

Heat soy milk and veggie bouillon in a saucepan, stirring until bouillon cube disintegrates. Do not boil or scald the soy milk. Just heat it.

Sauté onions, carrots, and mushrooms in the veggie oil in a skillet. Add salt, pepper, and herbs and spices.

Mix the starch and water well, and pour into the soymilk/bouillon. Stir well, because this will coagulate pretty quickly. Quickly add the can of green beans, the sautéed veggies, and about half of your French fried onions, and stir well.

Pour that mixture into a casserole dish or pan and top with remaining French fried onions. Bake in oven at about 350° for 10-15 minutes, until the onions begin to brown. Remove from oven.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

Crust

* 1 1/2 cups flour

* 2 tsp sugar

* 1 tsp salt

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil

* 2 Tbs soymilk

Filling

* 1 Tbs potato starch

* 1 1/2 cups soymilk

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 2 cup fresh cooked pumpkin, pureed

* 1/2 cup brown sugar

* 2 Tbs fresh ginger chopped in food processor

* 1 tsp cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp nutmeg

* 1/2 tsp cardamom

* 3 tsp egg replacer plus 4 Tbs water (equivalent of 2 eggs)

* reduced with about 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 Tbs potato starch and water

* 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Crust: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a 9 or 10 inch pie plate. Mix with a fork until well blended. In a separate bowl, combine oil and soymilk. Beat until blended. Pour over flour mixture.

Mix with fork until combined. Knead lightly with fingers for 2 - 3 minutes. Press firmly against bottom and sides of pie plate.

Filling: Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine potato starch with just enough water to dissolve (about 1 tablespoon).

Pour multi-grain milk in saucepan. Whisk in brown sugar and potato starch. Heat until almost boiling. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 12 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not boil. The goal is to reduce mixture to yield 1 cup liquid. Remove from heat. Set aside.